At First Sight
by AnnaHaleCall
Summary: Rachel moves back to La Push after four years away. She reunites with her old friends but things don't seem to be as they appear. Sam and Leah aren't together anymore, Jacob grew more than a foot, and she can't seem to shake this feeling that something big is going to happen. Will she be able to move on from the past and accept a new path in life?
1. Chapter 1

**La Push, 2miles ahead.** Normally I'd be heading in the complete opposite direction, but not this time. I was going to put my brave Rachel face on. I spent the past four years hiding at Washington State University, and I'm proud to say I graduated the best in my class. I haven't been back to La Push since I left for University, and I feel terrible about it. I miss my Dad and my little idiot of a brother, but most of all I miss my Mom.

That's one of the main reasons why I haven't been back for so long. Wherever I look, there's something that reminds me of her; the tree in our garden where I fell out of and she cuddled me all night afterwards, the bench where she'd draw pictures of the forest for us, the beach where she would braid our hair and tell us the legends. It was all too painful to be around. Each place somehow not complete, like some miserable replacement for my first memory of it. University was supposed to block it all out, but I concentrated so hard I finished my degree before anyone else in my class. I even managed to learn some Spanish and became the captain of the Washington state cougars Volleyball team. So that's why I'm headed back home. I couldn't stay in Pullman, WA forever; I have to head home and make some sort of peace with myself.

** La Push 1 mile ahead. **I past the next sign and take a left off the main route to Forks, heading for La Push. The green forest swallowed the road up and the only light came from the car lights and a pale but full moon. I missed the La Push forests; they were another thing I had missed while at University. Pullman was green yes, but not the familiar green forests Jake, Becca and I spent our childhoods playing in.

At last the little red house sprung up from the surrounding forest. The red of the house was a startling contrast to the dark green camouflage of the forest. Someone must have painted the house recently, as there was paint pots littered under the porch. With the light in the kitchen still on, I could make out the top of my Dads head as he wheeled himself from one room to another. My heart did a little flutter. My poor Dad. I only found out about Harry Clearwater passing away a few months ago, and I felt horrible for leaving Dad with Jake. I could hardly leave in the middle of my finals though. I guess you could say I'd been selfish in my decision to leave La Push, but then so had Rebecca, leaving to Hawaii with Sol. At least she had someone; the past four years hadn't exactly been full of love for me. I mean don't get me wrong there had been some, but no life changing, soul mate meeting yet. And anyway, that's the way it's going to be for a while. I have no intention of getting married before I'm like thirty or whatever.

I switch the engine off, and grab my handbag. I leave my bags in the trunk of my car; Jacob would get them for me. Timidly, dragging my feet in the wet grass, I walk up to the porch. Taking a deep breath, I knock on the door and take a step back. The low voice of my Dad, and another deep voice I don't recognise, can be heard before the door swings open.

"R-rach?" My dad stutters in disbelief. "Is that you?" He wheels himself closer and I can't help tears fall. He looks so old, grey hairs sprouting in his signature Black hair, and more wrinkles than I remember line his eyes. I faintly register a musty smell to the house before I launch myself into his arms. "Daddy," I squeal. I may act tough in front of most people but I can't help the emotions. I've missed him.  
I hear heavy footsteps behind my Dad but ignore them, instead inhaling my Dads scent. I've missed it: tobacco and mint. More tears roll down my cheeks.  
"Jeez, don't drown us in tears Rach," the deep voice from earlier jokes. I look up and my jaw drops in disbelief. The owner of the voice is my little –well not so little now- brother Jacob. He's grown more than I expected in the past few years, in fact he must be around 6'6ft. His arms and legs look so long and muscular, and his face had lost the childish roundness I was used to. Even with our russet skin, I still acknowledge the purple shadows under his eyes. Kids these days, Jake must be partying hard. I speedily let go of my father- him being more reluctant to let go of me, as if I'm going to disappear again- and wrap them round the middle of my brother. Even being 5'8 doesn't bring me tall enough to get my arms round his neck. He lifts me up and squeezes me tightly, almost painfully tight so I have to gasp for a breath. He sets me down on the floor again and chuckles when more tears spill out of my eyes.  
"And everyone said you were the tough one," he grins. I whip my hand out to smack him in the stomach, and he dips out. My fingers do connect with him though, and I have to admit they sting with pain. I didn't even hit him that hard.  
"I am the tough one," I grumble, rubbing my fingers glaring at Jake. "I'm just emotional seeing my baby brother and Dad after being away for four years…"  
Jacob only grins more, "That was hardly our choice." He states. I slightly blush and look at Dad with apology in my eyes. He's just sitting there smiling at the two of us.  
"I don't think I can say how sorry I am for not visiting you more Dad. I can't believe I left you with doofas here for this long." I whip my hand at Jacob again, but he dodges me this time. Jacob smirks and heads over to the fridge.  
Dad just smiles, "Rach, you're here now. That's all I care about." His eyes are watering again and he grabs my hand, rubbing his thumb on the scar I have on my palm from when I fell out of the tree. "I'm so proud of you. Sorry we couldn't make your graduation." I nodded.  
My graduation was the weekend Harry had died, so I understood completely why they didn't turn up for such a pointless ceremony. "I wish you'd called though; I would have had 'doofas' set his bedroom up for you."  
Jake's head popped up from behind the fridge door, "hey! Doofas can hear you, you know."  
I just smile at him; he had a piece of jam hanging from his lip. Jake hadn't changed one bit… "You're gross Jake…" I point at his lip, to which he licks the jam from his mouth with a triumphant look on his face. "Anyway, like I'd want to sleep in his bed… it's probably full of food." I tease, and my brother just smirks. Jake just goes back to rummaging for food in the fridge and Dad wheels himself back to his beer. I take a look around the kitchen and realise what a state it's in.  
The once polished mahogany table is covered in dirty plates and cups and what appears to be an entire years worth of pizza boxes. The side of the kitchen doesn't look any better. At least that explains the musty smell.  
"The house is tidy Dad…" I note, with a disapproving tone to my voice. He only smiles sheepishly and shrugs at me. "Have you just eaten pizza and drank beer for the past four years?" I tease. I used to do the cooking before I left; Bec and Dad were hopeless and well, let's just say Jake was a fire hazard when it came to cooking.  
Dad started to protest, "No… I mean… erm," his defence weakened under my raised eyebrow expression. "Pretty much," he conceded. I laughed at the look on my Dad's face; it was as if he was the child and I the parent.  
"Never mind!" I wave a hand dismissively. "It's about 7, so how about you two start cleaning up while I go to the store and buy some proper food for dinner?" I say while eyeing the pickle, jam and cheese-in-a-can sandwich Jake just made. He nods, with his bulging cheeks making him look like a giant hamster. "If I remember correct, Conweller's is open till late? See you in a few." My dad nods and I head back out to my car to take the short drive to the store in La Push. Tomorrow, I could head to the Supermarket in Forks for a proper food shop. I easily find my way round La Push, navigating easily the dark streets till I find the store. Conweller's had everything you could want. The whole town relied on their family. More than once we had to nip there to pick up something we forgot for dinner. One Christmas, Mom forgot the cranberry sauce for the Turkey and Dad had to run all the way in the snow to pick some up because Bec wouldn't eat any food without it.

A little bell signifies my entrance to the shop, and Mrs Conweller greets me warmly, despite now seeing me here for years. "Rachel Black, what a surprise! You look well," she smiles widely at me. I guess she was right there. I'd really benefited from the Volleyball; my limbs were lean and toned. Luckily, I still had the Black curves- big boobs and bum. My skin was past the teenage problem years and glowed with happiness at seeing my family. My big brown eyes framed by strong eyebrows and thick lashes we're a little watery and my button nose slightly runny from the reunion earlier. My hair had grown to nearly my waist. It hung in wild black curls, down my back in a loose pony tail. Only I inherited my Moms curls. "You look gorgeous, just like Sar…oh." Mrs Conweller stopped.

Sarah. I looked just like my Mom- more so than Jake or Bec at least. I forced a smile. "Oh…Thank you." I said quietly and went about buying some food for my family. I decided on something quick, so I choose some ingredients for Pasta Bolognese. I paid quickly, not wanting to spend more time in the shop, though Mrs Conweller shot me a timid and apologetic smile before I left.

Crossing the parking lot to my little old car, I caught in the fresh coastal breeze the most intoxicating smell. It was manly and for some reason made my chest bubble. It took all my strength to continue walking to my car and not following the source of the smell, though I did have a look around to see if the culprit was around. The lot was empty and no one was out. All I could hear was the wind ripple through the trees and the faint sound of waves hitting the shore. I shook my head trying to clear the fuzz that clouded my brain before I jumped in the car. I wound my window down in an attempt to try and collect myself before getting home. The car rumbled to life and I spent the majority of the drive trying to think of anything but that delicious smell that kept wafting into the car as I headed back through the forest roads.


	2. Chapter 2

The mattress underneath me groaned as I rolled over. I silently cursed myself for not taking Jake's offer of his bed, though something told me from the bags under his eyes that he needed the bed more than me. Anyway I could deal with a crippled back. I wouldn't be here for long.

Dad had spent ages over dinner last night apologising for converting the room Becca and I shared into a TV room. Charlie Swan and Dad, according to Jake, spent their nights with a beer and a game on. I hardly minded. I hadn't slept there for four years and it barely felt like my room without Mom there to tuck me in at night. Even before I left it became a room I avoided, and only went into for sleep. On numerous occasions dad found me on the sofa sleeping so I wouldn't have to go another place that reminded me of our Mom.

My bedroom for the duration of the stay would be my mum's old office, which now only contained a few bits of junk furniture- an old desk, wardrobe and broken chairs. The biggest piece was the old filing cabinet full of Dad's Tribal Office stuff, and it seemed to be the only piece of furniture still fully functioning. Luckily Jake had brought my bags in last night and put them at the foot of my air mattress, not leaving much room for anything else in the tiny room, but thank I thank God I wouldn't have to run out to the car for clothes every morning.

I heard a soft knock on the door and my dad's voice, 'Rach, if you're awake, I don't want to alarm you but Jake's making you pancakes for breakfast, so erm… if you want to help him I'd appreciate still having a kitchen..." He chuckled to himself and I heard the squeak of his wheels on the wood floor. I smiled into my pillow, Jake was a horrible cook. Not changing out of my yoga pants and baggy t-shirt that I'd slept in, I bound into the kitchen to take over. It was a very uncommon occurrence for me to even be awake in the mornings, let alone as cheery as I was today.

"Morning Rach," Jake smiled broadly and waved his spatula covered in a thick milky white paste before turning back to the cooker. Peaking round his huge body, I could see his 'masterpiece'. A lumpy congealed white lump laid smoking in the pan while Jake looked on with a proud smile. I rolled my eyes and elbowed him aside, taking over. Jake made a small indignant noise before shrugging and hopping on the counter. After saving breakfast and being praised excessively by both Dad and Jake, I took a quick shower in the tiny bathroom we all shared. I made sure to dry my hair nicely and I started singing along to the radio as I put on my makeup. Something good was going to happen today I could just feel it. I was mid-way through a Katy Perry disaster- my singing was awful- when I could hear my Dad's low voice through the thin walls. "Rachel," I heard his voice again more clearly this time, "Rach, the phones for you."

I scampered out the door to my 'bedroom' and grabbed the phone Dad had left in there, sitting in my towel on the mattress.  
"Hello," I asked, uncharacteristic shyness leaking into my voice. Only my roommate knew I'd left for La push, and I hadn't spoken to most of my friends from La Push for a while. Who could possibly want to call me?  
"And I thought you were the brave Black." I glared down the phone at the familiar voice. The man chuckled to himself, "careful now don't give me that look. If the wind blows, your face is stuck that way, and I know what a shame that would be..."  
I took a deep breath and sighed dramatically, "Well well well… Sam Uley."

Sam and I had been in the same classes for everything from Kindergarten to Senior Year. We had been best friends ever since we made mud pies together when we were three. He was probably the person I missed most from La Push aside from my family, of course.

Sam laughed, "We've missed you Rach. La Push hasn't been the same without its resident bitch." I heard a scoff from his end of the line.  
I sighed again, "I've missed you too pig head." I smiled now, knowing he was doing the same. I gasp, remembering what Dad had mentioned in one of our few phone conversations. "So what's this I hear about a wedding and hey, where was my invite?" I tease.  
Sam just chuckles again, and if I'd been there I would bet my life he ruffled his hair. "Oh yeah, you heard about that? Damn, Billy gossips like an old woman."  
That was true. Many a time had Bec and I listened to Charlie Swan's gossip from Forks and Billy returning the favour with the La Push gossip. "Well haven't you grown up since last time I saw you. And how is Miss Clearwater, or should I say Uley?"  
Leah and I had been great friends, but when I moved to Pullman we just lost contact. Leah was probably my best- and only- girl friend and I always regretted not making more of an effort to phone her.

On the other side of the line, I hear a gasp and Sam clamp his teeth together. I hear scuffling down his end for a few seconds, before he covered the receiver, then silence.  
"Jeez Rach, I thought you knew?" He finally spoke.  
Clearly not, I huffed. "Is everything okay with her?" I asked, unsure if I wanted to know the answer.  
He replied quickly, "YES! God yes, yes she's fine, well not fine… but she's okay… it's a long sto-"  
"Spit it out Sam," I interrupt, getting impatient with his stammering. He sighs- a long and regretful sound.  
"Okay. I'm not engaged to Leah." I gasp but he continues. "Do you remember Emily Young?" As he mentions her name, I vaguely remember a year when Leah and I was in junior year, Leah's cousin came round and we all played at First Beach together. I don't remember what she looked like exactly, just her black hair and russet skin.  
"Vaguely," I answer in a clipped tone. I knew where this was headed.

Back in high school, Sam and Leah were _that_ couple. That one couple everyone knew would get married and have kids, and live happily ever after. That's why I assumed Leah was his fiancée. They were perfect for each other. But now the phone conversation made sense. Leah wasn't his fiancée, Emily was. It didn't make sense.  
Before I could control myself, I was shouting down the phone. "Samuel Joshua Uley! I cannot believe you. What are you thinking? How could you do that to Leah? Who is this Emily and why does she think this is okay behaviour... Her cousin-"Sam cuts me off before I can finish.  
"Listen Rach; come down to my house for lunch and I can explain this better in person. Please trust me… it's the only way." He speaks with a low voice that sounds authoritative. I can't help but feel my compliant. For him and Leah to break up, it must be important. Maybe it had something to do with her Dad dying?  
"Fine, pick me up at eleven and you better hope this is worth my time." I hung up abruptly, feeling slightly sick at Sam.

I stomped past Jake who was in the kitchen. He obviously heard the whole conversation as he looked at me with a sad smile. Whatever Sam had done was big, and I knew it was Sam because Leah had told me -one time we stole her Mom's wine and drank it at the beach in junior year- she said she wanted to marry Sam, and I believed her. I just couldn't believe this. I'd been secretly jealous of them for so long, I never found someone I liked, dare I say loved as much as they did one another. It just didn't make sense.

The nausea didn't disappear while waiting for Sam to pick me up and I almost threw up when I recognised his old truck pull into our drive. My face was a mask of disgust as he jumped out the car. Sam's hair was dishevelled and I could tell he had been pulling at it from the bird's wing he had going on out the side of his head. That was the first thing I noticed about Sam- his hair. I'd been jealous of his hair for years and now all he had was a short cropped style that would have looked so out of place on his face. Except it wasn't Sam's face anymore, and I slowly began to really look at him. He had the face of a man who had responsibility, not the twenty two year old he was. He looked tired as well. And then there was his body. It was huge, bigger than Jakes if it was possible. He must have been 6'7 at least. His limbs were just as solid though. What were they feeding the boys here?

"Sam?" I choked out, forgetting I hated him; I ran over to him and hugged him tight. Just like with Jake, I barely skimmed his shoulder. "You sure grew while I was gone…" I joke as we let go of each other. Taking a step back, I compose myself in anger and cross my arms.  
"Hey Rachel…" He smiled sheepishly, "yeah, a few of us seem to have gotten growth spurts recently..." His eyes raked over the forest and then to our house, seemingly settling on our kitchen window. If I'd have blinked, I'd of missed the nod he gave in that direction. "I would like you to meet my Emily. I'll explain when we get to my house."  
I scoffed, "why should I? I don't want to meet this bitch, who stole-"

At the word 'bitch', he snapped his mouth shut and closed his eyes, grinding his teeth. I noticed a shiver run down his spine and down his long arms. Taking a deep breath, he placed a hand on the bridge of his nose.  
"Rachel, please," he started but I let myself get the better of me and interrupted again."I'm sorry but I'm really not sure I want to meet this, this woman who clearly stole you away from Leah. How does Leah feel about this? Because I'd bet my life she isn't sitting pretty with the idea…" I put my hands on my hips now.  
Sam only grimaced and I barely heard him whisper, "you have no idea."  
Childishly, I tapped my foot waiting for Sam to respond. "Rach, please come to our house. I can explain better with her there." He pleaded. I took one look at his face and nodded. He was looking at me with pained eyes I'd never seen on Sam's face before.  
"Fine, I'll come. But don't expect me to be nice…" I try to tease, but I think we're both too tense to appreciate it.

**Author's note: **

**Hi! This is the first story I've ever written so please give me some help if you see anything wrong with any chapters- I'm a massive perfectionist! I'm English, so sorry I've I use English spellings for most words. Apologies for the delay on this update as well, I've been super busy this weekend, but I hope to update every few days or so in the future. Big shout out to my first reviewer EVER! Thank you JCreader :D **


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors note: I'm so sorry about the wait. Things have been so hectic, my friends are all leaving to Univesity and I just started a new job. I hope this satisfies you for now, and I can make the promise that Paul will be coming soon. Let me know if you want to put any other POV's in- I'm toying with the idea of a Paul POV. Sorry again, and don't forget to review... I really appreciate it! Anna x**

No car journey in La Push is longer than ten minutes and at that point in time I was extremely grateful.

As usual, I'd gone and put my big old foot in my mouth before Sam had a chance to explain- even though he hadn't explained yet. Calling this Emily a stealing bitch probably wasn't my finest moment, but the whole thing was just unbelievable. In fact, I would have to meet this Emily to understand how Sam could do this to Leah.

The last time I'd seen Sam, he had his arm around Leah's waist and they were saying their goodbyes as I left for college. Both of them wore identical grins, knowing they would have each other to themselves without 'third wheel Rachel'.

Sam pulled up a driveway and the trees cleared to reveal a house I would not have expected Sam Uley to own. For starters it looked as if it should be in one of those glossy retail magazines. Not in a sense it looked expensive, but in the sense it looked perfect.

From the orange flowers below the window, to the stark white walls and light blue window panels; it was all carefully planned and beautifully perfect.

The colourful features with the white walls gave the house a bright happy look. It was only as he cut the engine, we exited the car and I heard the birds chirping that I realised how feminine it looked. Of course it was stupid to not realise that this was Emily's house as well. They were engaged after all…

Sam didn't wait for me and leapt up the few stairs and through the already open blue door. I could smell lunch cooking, and as much as I didn't want to admit it smelt delicious. Reluctantly, I made my way following Sam into his house, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found inside the house.

It was small, but had unusually tall ceilings for a house so little. A good thing too or Sam would keep hitting his head wherever he walked. The kitchen was the first room you walked into. It was small and was overtaken by a huge wooden table with a vase of flowers that matched the ones on the windowsills outside. Looking around I noticed pictures of Sam and Emily, along with other young men and a woman. The men were all shirtless, and weirdly I recognised 'new Jacob' as one of them.

Sam coughed earning a glare from me, and introduced the woman to his right. I broke my glare at Sam to inspect Emily. She was not at all what I expected.

Leah had always been tall and slim with a sharp yet beautiful face, where as this woman was short and curvy and it sounds rude but she had a monstrous face. Maybe she was beautiful once, but now her face had been cruelly ruined. The whole right side of her face was scarred by three angry red lines. The middle line pulled the corner of her brown eyes down and the other twisted her mouth into a grimace.

My mouth dropped, and I quickly realised how rude I must have looked, so it snapped shut and I stared at the floor, tears filling my eyes. I swallowed, and looked up to meet Emily's eyes which were filled with warmth and concern.

"This is Emily, my fiancée." Sam put his arm protectively round Emily. She half rolled her eyes at him, but continued to look at me with the same look of warmth.

She spoke with a soft comforting voice, a voice which reminded me of someone. "Rachel, I'm really pleased to meet you. Things must be a bit confusing at the moment, but we'll explain everything… and I'm glad I'm finally meeting the girl I've heard so much about."

I raised my eyebrow, and she continued with a nervous smile. "The boys – Sam and Jacob- talk about you."

My brow furrowed. How did she know Jacob? I must have asked the question out loud, as Emily looked up at Sam with wide eyes for a split second before looking at the floor.

Sam took his turn, fluffing his hair with his free hand. "A lot's changed since you were gone Rach. Jake and I are actually pretty close now; don't be so surprised if he wanders in later for some of Emily's delicious food…"

The arm Sam had around Emily's waist tightened and he kissed the top of her hair. Emily smiled and elbowed him, as if she was embarrassed at Sam's behaviour while I was present. Sam seemed to have forgotten I was there and quickly remembered, looked sheepishly in my direction as if I would be hurt by his actions- in fact I only felt the opposite.

I had been so prepared to walk into a house, all guns blazing to give Sam a bollocking, but I was speechless at what I was seeing. Even a stranger would be able to feel the love in the room, the love between the pair.

For my sake I guessed, Emily didn't touch Sam but as we'd been talking he'd been stroking her hair, touching her bare arm, even breathing her scent in deeply. By choice or not, he'd acted oblivious to my presence.

Sam looked happy as well. When I first saw him, his eyes had bags and he was hunched slightly, but just being next to Emily seemed to give him such vibrancy and energy. He looked at her like she was the only thing that he cared about in the entire world, including himself. It was incredibly intense.

Perhaps the one thing Leah and Sam had lacked was that intensity; they were only teenagers after all. Sure they loved each other and they were happy, but it wasn't perfect. Just looking at the way Emily's body fit next to Sam's made me wonder: these two certainly _looked_ perfect together.

Ignoring the manners my mother had taught me and spoke to Sam bluntly. "So how did this happen?" I waved my hand at the two of them before tightly crossing my arms again.

Emily blushed and Sam looked annoyed. "Less of that tone please." Sam instructed. I glared and he glared back until Emily nudged him. "Maybe we should eat some food?" He said to me but looked at Emily.

She sighed and stepped out of Sam's arms and grabbed a plate from behind her. It was filled with chicken. She set it on the table and grabbed two more bowls; a salad and some cous cous.

"Everyone always feels better on a full stomach," Emily commented nervously. Sam sat at the head of the table, Emily on his right, so I took the chair opposite Emily and filled my plate.

We ate in silence for a few minutes, and it was a good job too, I wouldn't have been able to talk; I was stuffing my face with the delicious food.

Sam was done before both Emily and I. He sat back on his chair, his hands folded behind his head while leaning back on his chair, balancing on two chair legs. Emily noticed and looked up, and instantly Sam stopped and smiled sheepishly. Emily only raised both eyebrows and finished her food. Watching them was so strange; they were so in sync with each other.

Once Emily had cleared the plates away- I'd offered to help but she'd batted me away- Sam spoke. "I'm sure you must be pretty confused about this whole thing, but you have to understand that there are some things that we can't tell you…" Sam shifted in his seat and my brow furrowed.

I sighed, Sam was obviously misunderstanding me, "Look Sam, I really don't care about what you can and can't tell me. I can see you're happy with Emily, perhaps happier than you were with Leah… All I want to know is, is Leah okay?"

Sam and Emily exchanged a glance, before Emily spoke. "When I met Sam again, you can't begin to understand how I felt…" She took a deep breath and looked at Sam. He seemed to understand that Emily wanted a girly chat, so he kissed her head and left out the front door.

Emily leaned over the table closer to me and continued. "I don't know whether you do or not, but I'm one of these people that believes there's one perfect person out there for each other… soul mates if you want to give it a name. When I met Sam, everything changed. He went from being my best friends' fiancée to this man that seemed to understand every tiny thing about me. It felt so wrong and so right all at the same time."

She looked at her hands and started twisting the beautiful engagement ring on her finger. It was rose gold and had a stunning little diamond in the centre. At least he'd bought Emily a new ring…

"I was so conflicted, Rachel… I was so confused, torn between hating Sam for how he made me feel because he was Leah's, but I couldn't help myself. Of course, for Leah's sake at first I ignored him, and it was worse when he broke it off with Leah. It was only until after my accident did I open up to Sam. He still looked at me with the same face, even with my ugly face."

I started to protest, and insisting she was still beautiful, because it was the truth. She only smiled and took my hand, "I know my scars aren't aesthetically pleasing, but Sam helped to show me how I could love myself again. I was in such a dark place at that time; Sam was the only one who could get me to move, let alone talk. That's when I realised I couldn't live without Sam… Of course after I realised this, things with Leah were awful between us. She felt betrayed, and rightly so. I can understand you must think of me as a witch for what I've done."

She looked down at the table and lowered her voice, "Leah's still heartbroken and it crushes me to see her like this… I'm so sorry for what happened, but I believe these things happen for a reason. There must be someone out there for Leah, who suits her much better than Sam ever could… She'll find her soul mate soon. I know it." She sighed and met my confused eyes. "Do you feel like you understand a bit better now Rachel, if that's even possible? I feel like I'm going to wake up from some dream and things will go back to how they were. It's all so unbelievable… "

The information I'd just been given seemed to fry my brain a little. In some way, I totally understood her. Sam and Leah weren't as perfect as I'd thought they were, they bickered all the time. Just watching Emily and Sam made me doubt why Leah and Sam were together in the first place- these two were perfect together. But on the other hand, Leah was heartbroken and it was Emily's fault.

"Thank you for explaining, but I think I need some time to get used to this... I should probably go see Leah." I got up from the table, "Thank you so much for lunch though." I said sincerely; the food really was delicious, I had to give Emily that.

Emily got up too. "I really was lovely to meet you, and I hope you understand this mess a little bit more now… please don't hesitate to come for lunch again." She smiled with hope this time. I could only nod.

I left the kitchen to see Sam leaning against his car. "I'll drive you home Rach. Thank you for being understanding about this. Most people haven't reacted so well. I mean Emily needed some convincing that this was a good idea-"

"Is it a good idea Sam?" I hissed. "I get it that Emily is probably the most amazing woman in the world, but you've hurt Leah, they were like sisters for god's sake!"

Sam just hung his head. "I know this… I know this Rachel but- urgh; it's hard to explain… I just know I can live without Emily." He looked at me with such defeat, all the anger in me dissolved, and was replaced with exhaustion.

"Just take me to Leah's." I said with defeat, and without a word, we set off towards the house of my brokenhearted friend.


End file.
